‘Knife edge’ – will Newcastle drop Pope for Ramsdale?

Nick Pope lived in a remote area.

At the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday, the Newcastle United number one made the bold move to run off his line in an effort to get the ball out on the right.

However, it turned out badly.

Pope was stranded on the biggest stage of the Champions League first, thanks to Marseille’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Pope yelled at Aubameyang with his mouth agape.

As 36-year-old Aubameyang coolly swept the ball into an empty net from a long way out, Pope was captured in his helplessness.

Pope had been a problem when Newcastle were ahead for the third straight away game. Newcastle continued to lose for the third successive away game.

Fans are increasingly urging fellow goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to receive his first Premier League start for the club as a result.

Before Saturday’s trip to Everton, head coach Eddie Howe acknowledged that “all options are on the table.”

He claimed that “the life of a goalkeeper is always on the knife edge.” You are judged on a few moments, but occasionally you don’t get a chance to get a second chance or someone else to save you.

Nick is aware of that, I believe. He has a good deal of experience playing. He is not new to it.

Pope’s status has never been in doubt.

The veteran, like he did in each of his previous three campaigns at Newcastle, started the season as first-choice.

Before Burnley’s goalkeeper Martin Dubravka’s departure was approved last summer, Howe recognized the necessity of adding new competition.

James Trafford had been a target for a while, but the 23-year-old made the decision to leave Burnley for Manchester City.

And Pope previously acknowledged that Ramsdale’s subsequent arrival on loan from Southampton and Newcastle’s highly public search for a permanent goalkeeper forced him to “push himself to the absolute maximum” to earn the right to play for the club.

Pope certainly made that clear after a successful campaign launch.

Pope, 33, was in excellent form; he was only called back after suffering a concussion during a game against Brentford and was then called back to the England squad for the first time in a year earlier this month.

A well-deserved call-up was made.

Pope kept eight clean sheets in all of his first 14 games, and his outstanding 65-yard throw against Benfica set off Harvey Barnes’ breakaway goal.

However, in recent weeks, Newcastle have struggled defensively on the road.

Pope has allowed 10 goals in his past four away games and made various kinds of errors against Marseille, Brentford, and West Ham when his team were in front, despite not always receiving much protection from those around him.

At the London Stadium, West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta’s shot squirmed past him.

A week later, Pope was thrown out of the Gtech Community Stadium when he attempted to punch the ball but was denied an equalizer by Brentford defender Michael Kayode’s long throw.

Ramsdale’s stock has grown as a result.

Ramsdale appeared confident in Carabao Cup victories against both Tottenham Hotspur and Bradford City despite conceding two goals in his only top-flight appearance for Newcastle as a substitute at Brentford.

Although he has only started a small number of times for Newcastle in each competition, his displays still offered a few hints about the differences between Pope and his.

According to Opta, Ramsdale has made nearly twice as many successful passes (24.3%) and long passes (76.46) per 90 minutes, making his passing accuracy on average 21.3% higher than Pope’s this year.

During Ramsdale’s crucial loan spell at AFC Wimbledon in 2019, his ability to play out of the back quickly struck AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper Ashley Bayes.

He said, “He has personality, character, and that.” His biggest strength is his distribution, which he uses very effectively, and his on-the-flying style.

He enjoys it because he had to play for various teams. At Southampton, he learned a lot, and at Arsenal, too.

It is easy to overlook the fact that Pope has endured for a long time.

Making a direct comparison based on such a small sample size is not realistic, but he has a higher save percentage (77.9%) per 90 minutes than Ramsdale this year.

Pope has also completed almost twice as many keeper sweeps as Opta has defined them as attempts to either cut out an attacking pass or close down an opposing player.

Of course, one of those rushes backfired against Marseille.

However, Howe’s statement that Pope had a “very strong season “aside from” a few high-profile moments came to an end as the news conference came to an end felt revealing.

Isn’t there always a second side, as it is said? “he said”. His goalkeeping is actually very good, in my opinion. His incredible shot-stopping.

“Many of his saves are underappreciated and fly under the radar,” he said.